Representatives of civil society bodies discussed in Brussels the current situation of Montenegro's EU accession negotiation at the 12th meeting of the EU-Montenegro Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). All the participants welcomed in a final joint declaration the accelerated growth of Montenegro's economy in 2018, as well as the fall of unemployment.

The EU is the crucial actor in coordinating and financing the national and regional fight against climate change. It supports bottom-up climate action globally but there is much more that it could be doing in Europe. The EESC says clearly that without action by citizens, communities, municipalities, businesses and other groups of civil society we will simply not be able to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In order to be able to implement smaller and micro projects, which are key to reaching these goals, it is critical to facilitate access to finance.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) today awarded five civil society organisations for their outstanding projects that reassert European values, celebrate the diversity of Europe's many identities and promote cultural heritage as a way of bringing Europeans together again.

Hlavní událost

This digital publication retraces the sixty years of the Committee's commitment to involving civil society, in all its diversity, in the building of Europe, highlighting its successes, its great achievements, its added value and its vision for the future of Europe.

Stanoviska ve středu pozornosti

The proposal for a Regulation (COM(2018) 366) is based on Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union: the EU pursues the goal "to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples", the EU "shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and shall ensure that Europe's cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced". But there is a clear perception that the number of challenges to face is larger, in particular the competition from online platforms and search engines, the concentration of the sector around a limited number of big players, or the rise of "disinformation".

EESC opinion: Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community for the period 2021-2025 complementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation

The EESC notes that achieving clean energy is a high priority and to this end fusion energy is recognised as a potential long-term solution with Europe being at the forefront of developing fusion technologies which are carbon-free, sustainable and help secure our mix of energy supplies.

The EESC thinks that, in addition to strengthening the coordination between supervisory authorities and streamlining procedures, operations should also be coordinated with other relevant parties to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing effectively. The EESC stresses the importance of internal and external communication on money laundering and financing of terrorism.

The EESC points out that a non-immigration scenario in Europe would mean among other things that Member States' economies would suffer substantially; demographic challenges would be aggravated; pension systems might become unsustainable; racism and xenophobia would flourish even more than at present. Non-integration bears economic, socio-cultural and political risks and costs. Hence, investment in migrant integration is the best insurance policy against potential future costs, problems and tensions.

EESC opinion: The cost of non-immigration (and non-integration)

A large number of Roma women and girls continue to face multiple discrimination in various areas, ranging from health to employment and education, amongst others. They also have limited opportunities to influence the policies that most concern them. The EESC emphasises the importance of their involvement, with programmes aimed at Roma women foreseeing a majority of Roma women in their planning and implementation. The EESC calls for an end to segregated education and for the abolition of health practices which infringe ethical standards.

EESC opinion: The situation of Roma women (Exploratory opinion from the European Parliament)

This opinion responds to a request from European Parliament for an exploratory opinion on gender equality in European labour markets, which had put a special emphasis on the pay situation and care obligations.

EESC opinion: Gender equality in European labour markets (Exploratory opinion from the European Parliament)

The EESC calls on the authorities at all levels to engage in close cooperation with all the stakeholders with a view to drawing up a specific action plan on the future of European retail in the 21st century.